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Living Life Above 8,000 Feet

The altitude affects everything from the tree line to the carbonation in a bottle of bubbly. I’m waitressing to earn my keep here at the Rustler Lodge in Alta, Utah and popping bottles in the dining room is part of the gig. The warmer the bottle, the higher the pressure.

The higher the hike, the thinner the air. Upon acclimating to the elevation, I am beginning to feel living at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon; especially now that I don’t huff & puff quite as much up a flight of stairs as I used to. Every day the lungs are feeling stronger, which makes earning my turns ever enticing.

The first storm cycle nuked a rocking 52 inches. This should be the norm for the area, but unfortunately Alta Ski Area hasn’t broken 500 inches in a year since 2009 according to www.onthesnow.com. The beauty of mountain culture is the general collective happiness to be alive and in the mountains. There is nothing like living about 8,000 feet with others who share that same thirst for high altitude adventure. Here in Little Cottonwood Canyon, optimism and hope fill the air as all the guests and locals cross their frosty toes.